Pertamina not interested in Iran?s oil refinery offer

State owned oil company Pertamina has categorically refused the Iranian government?s offer to jointly build a refinery plant in Tuban, East Java, saying the offer is not economically feasible, Bisnis Indonesia reported on Tuesday.

Pertamina?s finance director Alfred A. Rohimone said in Jakarta on Monday that the planned refinery project which would cost some US$1 billion to build would be too expensive.

?We are not interested in the offer. Besides, we don?t have much cash available. For us, it will be better to invest the money in bank rather than taking part in the project,? he was quoted as saying.

He said that Pertamina would agree to take part in the project if the state owned oil company in the proposed cooperation would be required only to buy the fuel to be produced from the refinery plant. ?It means that if we join the project, we will not provide equity,? he added.

Earlier Pertamina?s president Ariffi Nawawi said that Pertamina had accepted the Iranian government?s to cooperate in the development of the refinery plant but the company would only become a minority shareholder.

The Iranian government, through its state owned company National Iranian Oil Company, has expressed interest to build a refinery plant in Indonesia. The Iranian government has also invited Pertamina to cooperate in the construction of the project. (*)